Era of Mist

"P-peasant?" Si Chongtian’s eyes went wide. He looked at Liu Qigang in disbelief. "Uncle Gang, how can you say that? Everyone is equal now. There’s no such thing as a ’peasant’ anymore."

"Heh!" Liu Qigang let out a sarcastic laugh. "Peasants? There are plenty of them. You don’t believe me? Look at this ’senior colleague’ of yours right here. He’s a peasant, through and through."

Shi Tiexin’s brow furrowed sharply.

Just a moment ago, he was marveling at the young master’s cultivation progress. Now, he’d snapped back to reality to hear something like this. ’You can talk about whatever you want, but why drag me into it out of nowhere, and with words like that? Are you fucking looking to die?!’

Rage flared in Shi Tiexin, but...

"You see? I call him a peasant to his face, and he’s definitely not happy about it. But what can he do? I’m telling him loud and clear that I’m at the Second Layer of Power Technique, Sharpness Great Perfection, and about to enter the Battle Qi Realm." Liu Qigang held out his hand. A strange, sharp aura suddenly emanated from the skin of his palm, which seemed to almost glow from within.

Shi Tiexin’s pupils contracted. This state was very similar to Shi Yu Hui’s.

’So this is what Sharpness Great Perfection looks like? The big-chested Nurse Sister is even stronger than I imagined.’

"Peasant, peasant, peasant—" Liu Qigang barked coldly. "I’ll curse him three times, and what can he do to me? My boy, if you were him, what would you do?"

Shi Tiexin’s face was ashen, but Si Chongtian’s flushed red with anger, and he looked ready to jump to his feet. "My God, Uncle Liu, I never knew you were this kind of person! We Martial Artists would rather die than submit! Even if I’m no match for you, I have to test my skills against yours!"

"Test your skills? What gives you the right to test your skills against me? You don’t even have Sharpness. I could smash your head in with a single punch." Liu Qigang said coldly, "The only reason you dare to clamor for a fight is that you know you can’t die in the secret realm. But the secret realm isn’t omnipotent. You can still get injured, and you’ll still burn through your vital energy."

"But I’m not afraid!" Si Chongtian roared. "I won’t cower in fear!"

"You’re not afraid? Yes, you’re not afraid. I know you’re telling the truth. But your courage comes with prerequisites. You have comprehensive medical coverage, so you can heal quickly if you’re injured. You have an endless supply of nourishing essence food, so you can rapidly replenish any vital energy you expend. But do you think everyone in the world has the same advantages as you?"

Liu Qigang pointed a finger at Shi Tiexin. "I’m cursing him over and over, yet he doesn’t move a muscle or even say a word. You think he doesn’t want to? You think he doesn’t have the guts? You think he can’t fight? Let me tell you, he came from the Orphanage. I know the kind of people who come from the Orphanage. To get a job as a security guard here, a good job that all the other orphans envy, he must be a ruthless character who fought his way out of there."

Si Chongtian looked at Shi Tiexin and murmured, "So, Brother Shi, you came from the Orphanage."

Shi Tiexin finally broke his silence. His voice was neither high nor low, but heavy and steady. He didn’t seem enraged, but he had no intention of wagging his tail and begging for pity. "For President Liu to know so much about a small fry like me... I’m truly impressed."

"I am at the Peak of the Second Layer of Heart Technique, about to enter the Third Layer Heaven. As long as I want to know about it, there’s not a single thing that happens in this factory, no matter how small, that escapes my notice." Liu Qigang finally turned to face them directly, his falcon-like eyes fixed on Shi Tiexin, as if ready to strike a killing blow at any moment. "Aren’t you going to make a move and test your skills against me?"

Shi Tiexin met his gaze without flinching, once again putting on that frightening, shadow-filled face. "No health insurance. I don’t dare."

’If I had health insurance, if I wasn’t in debt, I’d really love to test my skills against you.’

"A wise choice." Liu Qigang nodded. "If a peasant doesn’t even have the awareness of a peasant, then he can’t even be a peasant. He can only be a dead man."

"How can this be!" Si Chongtian couldn’t accept it. Everything happening before his eyes contradicted his beliefs. "In the Era of Mist, with the Martial Dao flourishing, shouldn’t everyone be able to become a dragon? As long as you work hard enough, shouldn’t everyone be able to rise to the top?"

Liu Qigang found it a bit amusing. "Everyone a dragon? You’ve been reading too much pulp fiction, haven’t you? Then again, it depends on your perspective. Historically speaking, even the lowest rungs of modern society can afford food and clothing. They’re free from the worries of cold, hunger, infectious diseases, and parasites. They are strong, healthy, and have decent looks, unlike in the past, when the starved littered the fields and bones lay on the roads."

"The world today is the utopia, the dream life, that our ancestors pursued a century ago. In that sense, everyone is already a dragon."

"But even dragons have their own hierarchy. Even if everyone is a dragon, there will always be peasant dragons. The upper class is still the upper class. The lower class wants to rise to the top? Heh. A peasant is a peasant. They can’t make it."

"No, that’s not right!" Si Chongtian was stubborn. "Uncle Liu, what you’re saying is wrong. You can’t just look down on people and throw the word ’peasant’ around all the time. You know what they say, fortunes change..."

Liu Qigang cut him off. "I’ve read that book too. It’s called *Shatter the Stratosphere*, and it’s somewhat interesting. But the most ridiculous part is, even though the book preaches ’don’t bully the young for being poor,’ the protagonist was never actually poor. He was the direct heir of a great family, a genius in Power Techniques. He was only down on his luck for a short while."

"From the moment he had his fateful encounter, he gained immense resources that no one else had. Cultivation Techniques, information, Elixir Pills, intelligence, perspective, connections... he wasn’t poor at all. He was loaded. All his ’hard work’ was just him cashing in on those hidden resources."

Liu Qigang was surprisingly well-versed in pulp fiction, leaving Si Chongtian speechless. "Look at the protagonists of those young adult novels. They’re either born with some special ’bones’ or ’physique,’ or their father or grandfather holds a high position, controlling both the navy and the rebels, playing both sides of the law. Or they received some precious baptism before they were even born, or they have a guide from some higher-dimensional, all-powerful being. Some are even the reincarnations of some big-shot Immortal’s kid, born with more chakra than they know what to do with."

"They claim to be grassroots, to have come from the bottom, but they’re not at all. These pulp fiction novels are full of nonsense, but they get one thing absolutely right—someone with no foundation, no background, and no support simply can’t advance as quickly or have as broad a perspective as someone who has all of those things."

"Think about all the rivals and villains the protagonists surpass. Isn’t it always the same story?"

"Now think about those protagonists again. Is there any one of them who truly relied only on themselves? Is there anyone who succeeded through sheer personal effort, with absolutely no help at all? No."

"And do you know why? Because the readers don’t like it. And why don’t they like it? The reason is bloody and raw—because from the author to the reader, everyone believes deep down that a person without a fateful encounter can never rise up. They might not even realize it themselves, but do you see any readers willing to read a story where the protagonist just struggles and grinds it out on their own?"

"They don’t."

"Because they don’t believe it."

"They don’t believe that someone can get ahead through their own effort alone."

"And that," Liu Qigang’s finger tapped forcefully on the tabletop, "is what makes a peasant."

Si Chongtian’s face was beet red. He refused to accept Liu Qigang’s arguments. After racking his brain for a long time, he finally thought of a counterexample. "It’s not like there aren’t any who rose up on their own! The White-Robed Empress, the Heaven-devouring Demon Technique, a mere crippled physique who forged her own path to the Primordial Unity realm..."

"Stop quoting novels at me. My boy, have you ever heard the story of the emperor who, when told his people had no grain to eat, asked, ’Then why don’t they eat minced meat?’ You’re just like that naive child."